The Coruscant Riots
by SurvivalInstinct
Summary: Clone Trooper CC-4477 found himself thrown into a position that he believed would be the death of him. Although many people supported the Republic's shift into an Empire, not everyone was happy about it. The ones that weren't made sure they were heard. CC-4477 had always been among the most loyal to the Empire. Will this change when he is stuck between rebellion and certain death?
1. The Promotion

_**Just a note before this starts, this is my idea of where Clone Lieutenant Thire's story would pick up after the 'Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 10' Comic released in January 2018. In the comic, the head of the Coruscant Guard, Commander Fox is killed by Darth Vader for failing to give his description to the troopers, causing them to mistake Vader for a Jedi and ultimately attack him. After capturing the real Jedi that they were after, Vader personally crashes the speeder they are on in order to make her death look like an accident. Hope you enjoy!**_

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CC-4477 'Thire' stood mere meters away from the wreckage of a Coruscant Police speeder that had just crashed outside the Jedi Temple. Amidst the flames, Darth Vader stepped out of the speeder and walked calmly towards Thire and the other troopers of the Coruscant Guard that had gathered around the wreckage. The Dark Lord had a menacing aura about him. Surprisingly, he seemed to have suffered no injuries whatsoever.

"The Jedi is dead. Fox failed me. Ensure you do not make the same mistake."

Thire stood entirely still – "Yes Sir. Your orders?"

Vader replied – "Find her body. Bring it to the Emperor's office."

Thire nodded furiously – "Yes Sir."

He began directing the troopers around them to search the downed speeder. Vader stepped around him and marched his way down the street. A fellow officer, Lieutenant 'Rys' jogged up to Thire. Rys had served with him several times throughout the clone wars and had recently been promoted to the new rank.

Rys cocked his head – "If Fox is dead… And Stone is MIA…. Does that make you the senior officer of the unit?"

Vader, still in hearing range, stopped and looked over his shoulder – "Congratulations on the promotion…. _Commander_."

Thire felt a chill go down his spine.

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Commander Thire didn't like his new promotion. Darth Vader had a reputation for killing clone troopers, mostly the ones in charge. As leader of the Coruscant Guard, anything and everything that went wrong here in the capitol was his fault. He felt like a target had been painted on his back. Thire walked into the cantina, reserved specifically for security members. A mixture of Coruscant Guard, Imperial Police and Senate Guard sat at different tables, eating their breakfast. He stepped up to a table different from the rest. It was the officers' table. Around it, each seat had a name plate on it for the different leaders of the units. Three he recognized, his own, that of Lieutenant Rys and of Commander Fox. The other name plates were members of the other two units and Thire didn't feel the need to get to know them. The table felt unusually empty without fox there. He had been the commander of the guard for the entirety of the clone wars. It was hard to believe that he was dead. Rys was already at the table, enjoying his meal.

Rys looked up from his food and smiled – "Good Morning, _Commander_."

Thire sat down – "Any new developments I should know about?"

"No Sir. None."

"A quiet day is a good day"

"Aye, Sir."

As if on cue, a siren went off. A voice spoke into the intercom: [POLICE AND GUARD PRESENCE REQUIRED AT SENATE APPROACH. EXPLOSION REPORTED]. The troopers and police knew their orders and immediately rushed out of the room to the armory. Many were struggling to put their helmets and armor on. From there, they exited the Coruscant barracks and entered Police Speeders. Someone was attacking the Senate...

The speeders arrived at a gruesome scene. Outside the entrance of the Senate building, bodies of security personnel were strewn everywhere. The few remaining troops were taking cover and opening fire towards a much larger group opposite of them. They seemed to only be civilians with rifles and various pieces of armor. The speeders landed close to the building and unloaded the first detachment of clones, roughly 120 of them. Commander Thire received a holocall and when he answered, the silhouette of Darth Vader appeared—His voice was angrier than usual.

"What is the disturbance!?"

"A group of terrorists has detonated a bomb outside the Senate Building, My lord."

"I want every one of them ERADICATED. Remember my words. Failure is not an option."

"Yes Sir."

This was going to be an easy job. Thire's force outnumbered the enemy four to one. Even now, he watched his troopers cut down man after man. Dodging, using cover, throwing grenades. His moment of admiration was cut off by Rys shouting.

The lieutenant was beckoning towards the terrorist forces. Although their numbers had been reduced and pushed away from the building, the retreat had stopped. A single man with long, gray, braided hair, stepped out from cover and shot a strong invisible wave towards a group of advancing Clone Troopers. They were all swept off their feet and thrown several meters back. The man then ignited a green lightsaber. Thire froze.

 _This was SUPPOSED to be an easy job._


	2. Rogue Jedi

Thire removed his blaster from its holster and lifted it over the cover that he was crouched behind. He opened fire; not necessarily to kill the Jedi (He knew his blaster alone couldn't do that), but to distract him from the second wave of security personnel inbound. Shuttles landed on the opposite side of the terrorist forces, blocking their escape. Several squads of Imperial Police poured out, flanking the now distraught enemy. The Jedi wasted no time, rushing towards Thire's position, frequently blasting waves of force energy at troopers that got in his way. The Commander ducked down to conceal himself and then dove out at the last moment of the Jedi's approach to attempt to trip him. The Jedi effortlessly bounced and flipped over him. Thire once again opened fire at the Jedi but the hooded figure deflected his bolts with ease. Another Police speeder circled around the senate building and made its way towards the Jedi. In response, he abandoned his allies and sprinted towards the nearest alleyway. Thire gave chase, beckoning for the speeder to follow overhead. Rys shouted after him.

"Sir, what about the rest!?"

"Kill them all!"

Thoughts flooded Thire's mind as he ran after the rogue Jedi.

' _What Jedi just abandons his allies…? They really are traitors…. He's got nowhere to go; this whole city has to hate Jedi…. Right?'_

The Jedi sensed his follower and quickened his pace to a full sprint. The alley led to series of interconnected passages and Thire found it difficult to keep up. He opened up his comm channel with nearby Guard forces.

"I need a reinforcement on my position. The fugitive is attempting to flee the scene of his crime. He's headed for Katarina Square, all units, cut him off! Priority one, Rogue Jedi!"

Generally, any sane trooper would not willingly follow an enemy force-user, but seeing as it was between this figure and Lord Vader… He would take his chances. The Jedi rounded a corner and the alley opened into a town center. This early in the morning, the stores of Katarina Square were just beginning to open up and traffic was light. The Jedi rushed to the opposite end of the center where another alley was. However, moments before he entered, a speeder searchlight beamed down onto him. Caught off guard, the Jedi stood shielding his eyes from the light. A squad of Clone Troopers rushed out from the alley that he had tried to enter, immediately opening fire. Thire did the same. The Jedi used his lightsaber to block and deflect many of the bolts, downing two troopers in a matter of seconds. The Police speeder circled above the Jedi, opening one of its side doors. A trooper with a minigun took aim and unleashed a hail of bolts at his target. The Jedi reacted quickly, diving out of the way, taking cover inside a nearby shop. The Clone Troopers surrounded the building. Thire ordered the troopers to prime their grenades. He yelled into the shop:

"You're surrounded. If you give up now and save me the ammo… Your life will be spared."

His response was less than pleasing. The Jedi shouted in return:

"Do you think I'm that dumb, clone!?"

"I think you let civilians die back at the senate building. So surely, you're not THAT smart, Jedi."

"They knew the risks when they agreed to help me. Actually, I believe it was your men that killed them."

"Just come out. You don't have to betray the Empire like this."

"Betray the Empire!? The REPUBLIC betrayed US! YOU AND ME!"

"I wouldn't call a change in leadership 'betrayal'. However, I do consider bombing a building with innocent senators inside to be betrayal."

"You know nothing, clone. You're programmed to do this! Don't you realize that we are trying to help you!? The Senate is being bribed by the military!"

"That's enough…"

Thire made a hand gesture that signaled for the target to be destroyed. The squad of troopers thrust their grenades through the windows of the establishment. Seconds later, the street was flooded with fire, gas and shattered glass from the explosion. As more troopers poured into Katarina Square, he ordered them to acquire the body and take it to the Emperor's Office as proof. The Police speeder landed in the center of the square and the minigun trooper stepped out to greet Thire. The Commander recognized him as another of his older squad mates, Jek.

"Jek? That you?"

"Yes Sir. Congratulations on the promotion, Sir."

"Thank you. Are you the new door gunner?"

Jek nodded.

"You know the lifespan of a door-"

Jek cut him off.

"Respectfully, Sir…. You have told me before."

"Right. Just reminding you."

"I like this job."

A Clone called to Thire from the newly destroyed shop.

"Sir! He's not here!"

He immediately marched into the building.

"What!?"

"Sir, his body isn't here… but we found this…"

The Trooper pointed at a floor hatch poorly concealed underneath a table. It had recently been opened and led to a dark tunnel.

"Where does this go?"

"The Sewers, Sir."

"I want units down there now, searching every inch of it for that _**criminal**_. Take an entire battalion if you have to. Find him!"

With a nod, the trooper quickly activated his comm and relayed the information to other members on his channel. Thire stepped out of the building and scanned the square. A large group of civilians had gathered around the scene, including the shop's owner. Thire gestured for Jek to come to him.

"Jek, arrest this man for illegal sewer access."

"Aye Sir."

Thire felt his belt vibrate. A holocall. When he answered the device, Darth Vader appeared.

"I do not like calling two times in one day. Tell me why you disobeyed my orders."

"Sir?"

"Do not try to deceive me, Commander. I hear you have taken prisoners AND that a Jedi was allowed to escape."

"Yes…Sir a Jedi did escape, but I gave one of my officers the command to eliminate all remaining terrorist forces. The Jedi unfortunately used a sewer hatch of a shop owner I assume is an accomplice. He is now in our custody."

"There are six rebels sitting in the holding cell of your building. Tell me how that is possible if they are all dead."

"I will handle it, my lord."

"Be sure that you do."

Thire ended the call and walked over to the police speeder in the square. He took a diagnostic data-pad from one of the pilots. He flipped through the holographic pages until he found the prison directory. Vader was right, six prisoners had been checked in roughly eight minutes before. Now scrolling to the bottom, he found the trooper responsible.

"No… that can't be right…."

The signature belonged to a 'CC-1010'…. Commander Fox…. A Dead man.

"Pilot! HQ NOW!"

The Speeder jolted to life and lifted out of the square as fast as possible.

 _It wouldn't be fast enough…_


End file.
